strange and random happenstance

The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
Published by: Redhook
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn't believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.

Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who've tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a price: No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.

When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn't believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can't resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home - at the risk of losing her magic and her heart."

THE book I see everyone talking about this spring.

The Blue Maiden by Anna Noyes
Published by: Grove Press
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of Indie Next Pick and New York Times Editors' Choice Goodnight, Beautiful Women comes a transportive and chilling debut novel of two sisters growing up on an isolated Northern European island in the shadow of their late mother and the Devil.

It's 1825, four generations after Berggrund Island's women stood accused of witchcraft under the eye of their priest, now long dead. In his place is Pastor Silas, a widower with two wild young daughters, Beata and Ulrika. The sisters are outcasts: imaginative, oppositional, increasingly obsessed with the lore and legend of the island's dark past and their absent mother, whom their father refuses to speak of.

As the girls come of age, and the strictures of the community shift but never wane, their rebellions twist and sharpen. Ever capable Ulrika shoulders the burden of keeping house, while Bea, alone with unsettling visions and impulses, hungers for companionship and attention. When an enigmatic outsider arrives at their door, his presence threatens their family bond and unearths - piece by piece - a buried history to shocking ends. All the while Berggrund's neighboring island The Blue Maiden beckons, storied home of the Witches' Sabbath and Satan's realm, its misted shore veiling truths the sisters have spent their lives searching for.

A Nordic Gothic laced with the horrors of life in a patriarchy both hostile to and reliant on its women, The Blue Maiden is a starkly beautiful depiction of lost lineage and resilience."

Nordic Gothic, yes please!

Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black
Published by: Hodderscape
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Til Death Do Us Bard is a charming queer fantasy, perfect for fans of Legends and Lattes and Nettle and Bone.

Marriage isn't always sunshine and unicorns...sometimes it's monsters and necromancy.

It's been almost a year since Logan 'The Bear' Theaker hung up his axe and settled down with his sunshiny bard husband, Pie. But when Pie disappears, Logan is forced back into a world he thought he'd left behind.

Logan quickly discovers that Pie has been blackmailed into stealing a powerful artifact capable of creating an undead army. With the help of an old adversary and a ghost from his past, Logan sets out to rescue his husband.

But the further the quest takes him, the more secrets Logan uncovers. He'll need all his strength to rescue his husband - but can he save their marriage?"

I like to think that the surprise hit that is Legends and Lattes didn't spawn all these imitators but that all these books were out there waiting for an audience so that the authors could finally tell their tales that had been brewing in them for years.

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
Published by: S and s/Saga Press
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Unicorn comes a new novel with equal amounts of power and whimsy in which a loveable cast of characters trapped within their roles of dragon hunter, princess, and more must come together to take their fates into their own hands.

Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased dad's job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart in part because he likes dragons, feeling a kinship with them, but mainly because his dream has always been the impossible one of transcending his humble origin to someday become a prince's valet. Needless to say, fate has something rather different in mind..."

I mean, I just want to read the story for Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax, AKA Robert!

The Wolf's Eye by Luanne G. Smith
Published by: 47north
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Under the full moon of World War I, a baleful curse threatens to tear apart a witch's found family in a novel by the Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author of The Raven Spell.

Petra Kurková - a witch who wields magic worth its weight in gold - is tasked with combating the undead on World War I's eastern front. The battlefield has yielded a newfound closeness for her spellbound team, especially for Josef Svoboda, a recruiter for the Order of the Seven Stars. But Josef was bitten at the start of the war, leaving his blood tainted by a strain of the vlkodlak curse, which makes him a target of the Order's latest mission: slay the werewolves prowling the eastern front under the moonlight.

Petra refuses to give up on one of their own. From the hasty kill order of a clandestine society to the long-lost spells in an old grimoire to the unraveling mysteries of Petra's own past, the urgency to save Josef grows, particularly as his feral impulses become harder to control. The werewolves are closing in. So, too, are the bounty hunters eager to collect. As Petra's team finds itself at a magical crossroads, Josef devises an ambush of his own - one that could wipe out the cursed threat forever or endanger everything and everyone he loves."

Usually I avoid WWI and II, but there's something about adding in the supernatural that makes me drawn to it like a werewolf to a very juicy rabbit.

Puzzleheart by Jenn Reese
Published by: Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Get ready to solve the mystery at the heart of this captivating new middle grade adventure about family - and a house with a mind of its own - from the award-winning author of Game of Fox and Squirrels and Every Bird a Prince, Jenn Reese.

Twelve-year-old Perigee has never met a problem they couldn't solve. So when their Dad's spirits need raising, Perigee formulates the Plan: a road trip to Dad's childhood home to reunite him with his estranged mother.

There's something in it for Perigee, too, as they will finally get to visit "Eklunds' Puzzle House," the mysterious bed and breakfast their grandparents built but never opened.

They arrive ahead of a massive storm and the House immediately puts Perigee's logical, science-loving mind to the test. Corridors shift. Strange paintings lurk in the shadows. Encoded messages abound. Despite Perigee's best efforts, neither the House nor Grandma will give up their secrets. And worse, prickly Grandma has outlawed games and riddles of any kind.

Even the greatest of plans can crumble, and as new arguments fill the air, the House becomes truly dangerous. Deadly puzzles pop up at every turn, knives spin in the hallways, and staircases disappear. The answer lies at the heart of the House, but in order to find it, Perigee and their new friend Lily will need to solve a long-lost, decades-old riddle... if the House itself doesn't stop them first."

I mean, come on! Stuck in a house during a storm and then the house tries to kill you? My dream read!

Love at First Book by Jenn McKinlay
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a librarian moves to a quaint Irish village where her favorite novelist lives, the last thing she expects is to fall for the author's prickly son...until their story becomes one for the books, from the New York Times bestselling author of Summer Reading.

Emily Allen, a librarian on Martha's Vineyard, has always dreamed of a life of travel and adventure. So when her favorite author, Siobhan Riordan, offers her a job in the Emerald Isle, Emily jumps at the opportunity. After all, Siobhan's novels got Em through some of the darkest days of her existence.

Helping Siobhan write the final book in her acclaimed series - after a ten-year hiatus due to a scorching case of writer's block - is a dream come true for Emily. If only she didn't have to deal with Siobhan's son, Kieran Murphy. He manages Siobhan's bookstore, and the grouchy bookworm clearly doesn't want Em around.

Emily persists, and spending her days bantering with the annoyingly handsome mercurial Irishman only makes her fall more deeply in love with the new life she's built - and for the man who seems to soften toward her with every quip she throws at him. But when she discovers the reason for Kieran's initial resistance, Em finds herself torn between helping Siobhan find closure with her series and her now undeniable feelings for Kier. As Siobhan's novel progresses, Emily will have to decide if she's truly ready to turn a new page and figure out what lies in the next chapter."

There's two ways it can go when helping a famous author, murder or romance. This is definitely romance.

The Stellar Debut of Galactica Macfee by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Vintage
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The latest installment in the warm and welcoming 44 Scotland Street series finds all our favorite residents of Scotland's most celebrated address navigating their enchanting and eventful lives.

Angus Lordie is approached in the park by a shadowy, Deep Throat-like figure with government secrets to share, who mistakes him for a journalist. Now Angus is privy to some controversial plans of the Scottish Parliament - but just what is he meant to do about it? Elsewhere, Big Lou's husband Bob hires a personal trainer who changes his entire outlook on life, much to Lou's dismay. At the schoolhouse, young Bertie Pollock's class has a new ringleader, Galactica MacFee, who quickly comes between Bertie and Olive. All this proves too much for Bertie to bear, and he flees to Glasgow with best friend Ranald Braveheart MacPherson in tow. And the indomitable Irene again finds herself in Edinburgh...and it looks like there might be romance in the air.

Meanwhile, Matthew, too, is keeping busy. He invests in a brand new Pictish Experience Centre, meant to allow residents to experience what life was like for Scotland's mysterious early people, the Picts. And they may have made a fantastic discovery - the earliest known work of Scottish literature! But what exactly do those mysterious Pictish runes say? As always, McCall Smith draws on his seemingly unlimited stores of goodwill and generosity in describing the goings-on of this beloved cast of characters."

This was my mom's favorite. What does it say that all her favorite series were Scottish?

Wives Like Us by Plum Sykes
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Take a grand English country house, one (heartbroken) American divorcee, three rich wives, two tycoons, a pair of miniature sausage dogs and one (bereaved) butler; put them all into the blender and out comes the impossibly funny Wives Like Us, the new novel from the best-selling author of Bergdorf Blondes and Party Girls Die In Pearls, Plum Sykes.

If you think the English countryside is all green wellies, muddy Land Rovers and grey-haired ladies in tweed, then you've never visited 'The Bottoms.'

Welcome to the rose-strewn county of Oxfordshire, and the tony Cotswold villages of Little Bottom, Middle Bottom, Great Bottom, and Monkton Bottom, recently annexed by a glittering new breed of female: the Country Princess.

Following a ghastly row about a missing suite of diamonds, Tata Hawkins has flounced out of Monkton Bottom Manor with her daughter, Minty, and Executive Butler Ian Palmer in tow, decamping to The Old Coach House to teach her husband Bryan a lesson.

But things don't go to plan: Bryan disappears to Venice with a bikini designer; Selby Fairfax, the glamorous American divorcée who has inherited the beautiful estate next door, is refusing Tata's overtures at friendship; Tata's best friends, Sophie Thompson and Fernanda Ovington-Williams, are distracted by their own heartache, and the posh Pennybacker-Hoare sisters are plotting to prevent Tata regaining her crown as Queen of the Bottoms. Worst of all, Ian has nowhere to store his collection of vintage Gucci loafers.

Will Tata ever return to the comforts of the Manor? Will Selby find her Prince Charming? Will the Pennybacker-Hoares prevail? With the help of a pig farmer-ess moonlighting as a Personal Assistant, a male model moonlighting as a stable hand and a London barrister moonlighting as a gentleman farmer, can Ian restore harmony to The Bottoms?"

A very Tottering by Gently vibe.

The Thunder of Stones by Andrea Penrose
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 284 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Athens. A city where the ancient past and present tangle in a web of intrigue. As Saybrook and Arianna seek to unravel the truth about her brother's disappearance while on a clandestine mission for the Crown, they find themselves threatened by shadowy enemies - and a mysterious ancient talisman...

The winds of change have brought great joy to Lady Arianna and Saybrook, who have recently welcomed an infant son to their family. They are still adjusting to their new life when a letter arrives from Arianna's dearest friend and former comrade-in-chicanery inviting them to a gala 50th birthday celebration in Switzerland. With the blessing of their surgeon friend, they decide to make the trip, only to find themselves once again drawn into a dangerous web of political intrigue that may ignite war throughout Europe.

However, once in Geneva, Arianna and Saybrook learn that her half-brother is missing and feared dead while on a clandestine government mission to Greece, where revolutionary fervor - stirred by outcries from the infamous poet Lord Byron over Lord Elgin's "Marbles" and whether he is guilty of cultural looting - is rising against the rule of the Ottoman Empire. What to do? They are saved from having to make an agonizing choice when their friends offer to care for their son while they undertake the perilous journey to learn the truth...

But Truth proves dauntingly difficult to unravel. Unknown forces appear intent on sparking mayhem and the list of possible villains keeps growing - a traitor within the British consulate or local Turkish government; a woman claiming to be a reincarnation of the Oracle of Delphi; thieves who may be illegally selling antiquities...Nothing is as it seems, leaving Arianna and Saybrook uncertain of whom to trust as they seek to help the British government prevent war from breaking out in the region. And when explosives go missing from the armory atop the Acropolis, they are in a race against time, with their lives hanging in the balance..."

Sigh. I've been waiting for this book for eons! OK, two years, but it felt like eons! In fact typing this is the first time I've read the blurb, I preordered without reading it!

Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A deliciously haunting debut for fans of Sarah Waters and Sarah Penner set in 19th-century Paris, blending Gothic mystery with a captivating sapphic romance as two estranged sisters - celebrated (and fraudulent) spirit mediums - come back together for one last con.

Paris, 1866. When Baroness Sylvie Devereux receives a house call from Charlotte Mothe, the sister she disowned, she fears her shady past as a spirit medium has caught up with her. But with their father ill and Charlotte unable to pay his bills, Sylvie is persuaded into one last con.

Their marks are the de Jacquinots: dysfunctional aristocrats who believe they are haunted by their great aunt, brutally murdered during the French Revolution.

The scheme underway, the sisters deploy every trick to terrify the family out of their gold. But when inexplicable horrors start to happen to them too, the duo question whether they really are at the mercy of a vengeful spirit. And what other deep, dark secrets may come to light?"

Fake mediums dealing with a real haunting? Oh, my, yes.

Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The fourth instalment in Ashley Weaver's delightful series, Locked in Pursuit follows safecracker Electra McDonnell fighting Nazis at every turn as World War II looms over London.

Safecracker Ellie McDonnell hasn't seen Major Ramsey - her handsome but aloof handler in the British government - since their tumultuous mission together three months before, but when she hears about a suspicious robbery in London she feels compelled to contact him. Together they discover that a rash of burglaries leads back to a hotbed of spies in the neutral city Lisbon, Portugal, and an unknown object brought to London by a mysterious courier.

As the thieves become more desperate and their crimes escalate, it becomes imperative that Ellie and Ramsey must beat them at their own game. Fighting shadowy assailants, enemy agents, and the mutual attraction they've agreed not to acknowledge, Ellie and Ramsey work together to learn if it truly takes a thief to catch a thief."

Yes, because it always works when you agree to not acknowledge chemistry...

She Left by Stacie Grey
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Twenty years ago, she survived. This time she may not be so lucky.

On the night that changed everything, Amy Brewer walked out of a house party, trudging angrily away from the friends who made her feel like she didn't belong. Within the next hour, all five of those friends would be dead.

The Memorial Day Massacre, as it came to be called, rocked their small California community and Amy - the girl who had walked away just in time - couldn't escape the media circus...or the guilt.

Twenty years later, ten people with connections to the crime have been invited to a remote cliffside house by a journalist looking to do a story on the murders. But the group quickly learns the event is not what it seems. As a storm closes in and guests begin to die, Amy realizes there is someone in the house who knows more than they admit about what happened that night long ago... and they will stop at nothing to protect their secrets."

Murder reunion! The only kind of reunion I'm all for!

Man's Best Friend by Alana B. Lytle
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A failed actress must decide how much she will give up - and what lies she will overlook - in order to live a life of luxury, in this irresistibly suspenseful and slightly surreal debut that is The Talented Mr. Ripley meets Nightbitch.

Ever since her year as a scholarship student among the ultra-wealthy at a Manhattan private school, El knows what it is like to feel rich - to feel chosen. And being not chosen is her current living nightmare: at age thirty, she has given up her dream of becoming a famous actress, she has no passions, no great love, nothing to look forward to.

Then El meets a mysterious trust-fund Cambridge grad who holds the keys to the world she has long dreamed of. Bryce may not be particularly good-looking, charming, or interesting, but he has chosen her. El allows herself to be lulled by the ease and safety that his wealth provides, becoming Bryce's little pet, and giving up her job, friends, and apartment in short order. But when a series of disturbing and slightly surreal events reveal that Bryce is not quite what he seems, but something entirely more sinister, El must face the consequences when his darkness - and her own - are unleashed."

Always question those who you give up everything for...

The Hunter's Daughter by Nicola Solvinic
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A hypnotic, sinister debut mystery about a seemingly good cop who is secretly the daughter of a notorious serial killer.

Anna Koray escaped her father's darkness long ago. When she was a girl, her childhood memories were sealed away from her conscious mind by a controversial hypnosis treatment. She's now a decorated sheriff's lieutenant serving a rural county, conducting an ordinary life far from her father's shadow.

When Anna kills a man in the line of duty, her suppressed memories return. She dreams of her beloved father, his hands red with blood, surrounded by flower-decked corpses he had sacrificed to the god of the forest.

To Anna's horror, a serial killer emerges who is copying her father - and who knows who she really is. Is her father still alive, or is this the work of another? Will the killer expose her, destroying everything she has built for herself? Does she want him to?

But as she haunts the forest, using her father's tricks to the hunt the killer, will she find what she needs most...or lose herself in the gathering darkness?"

I love the Hannibal vibe of this. To be clear I mean the television show not the book.

My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna Van Veen
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Spirits are drawn to salt, be it blood or tears.

Roos Beckman has a spirit companion only she can see. Ruth - strange, corpse-like, and dead for centuries - is the light of Roos' life. That is, until the wealthy young widow Agnes Knoop visits one of Roos' backroom seances, and the two strike up a connection.

Soon, Roos is whisked away to the crumbling estate Agnes inherited upon the death of her husband, where an ill woman haunts the halls, strange smells drift through the air at night, and mysterious stone statues reside in the family chapel. Something dreadful festers in the manor, but still, the attraction between Roos and Agnes is undeniable.

Then, someone is murdered.

Poor, alone, and with a history of 'hysterics', Roos is the obvious culprit. With her sanity and innocence in question, she'll have to prove who - or what - is at fault or lose everything she holds dear."

Rule number one that I adhere to, never go to an estate with a family chapel. Nothing good can come of it.

The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A single mother working in the Gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets in the captivating new novel from the national bestselling author of Good Girls Don't Die and Horseman.

Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so it's not a total coincidence that she took the job cleaning house for movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding graystone Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards from his career making films that thrilled audiences - until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.

Javier values discretion, and Harry has always tried to clean the house immaculately, keep her head down, and keep her job safe - she needs the money to support her son. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. Noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, even though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of working for Javier, but she soon finds that the sinister house may be home to secrets she can't ignore."

And what about that scandal!?!

Cloaked Deception by Timothy Zahn
Published by: Aethon Books, LLC
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 546 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Timothy Zahn, Hugo Award winner and # New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, comes this pulse-pounding political thriller.

A tactical nuclear weapon is stolen from an Indian research facility, setting off a chain of events that spans the globe.

Those behind the heist plan to use it to take out thousands of innocent people-all to assure death of a single man who they believe is too dangerous to be left alive.

What are the lives of thousands compared to the safety of the world?

At the same time, scientists have invented the world's first cloaking device, able to render its user almost completely invisible. It's the epitome of hidden-in-plain-sight-a game changer for any military. At least until three of the lead scientists are murdered and their work is stolen the night before their first demonstration.

Authorities have no idea the two crimes are connected.

There are ten days before the bomb is set to go off.

Can they unravel the trail of red herrings in time?

The clock is ticking..."

FYI this is a reprint of Cloak. But admit it, you actually don't care. You want the pretty new copy.

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: May 14th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When Among Crows is swift and striking, drawing from the deep well of Slavic folklore and asking if redemption and atonement can be found in embracing what we most fear.

We bear the sword, and we bear the pain of the sword.

Pain is Dymitr's calling. His family is one in a long line of hunters who sacrifice their souls to slay monsters. Now he's tasked with a deadly mission: find the legendary witch Baba Jaga. To reach her, Dymitr must ally with the ones he's sworn to kill.

Pain is Ala's inheritance. A fear-eating zmora with little left to lose, Ala awaits death from the curse she carries. When Dymitr offers her a cure in exchange for her help, she has no choice but to agree.

Together they must fight against time and the wrath of the Chicago underworld. But Dymitr's secrets - and his true motives - may be the thing that actually destroys them."

Look. At. That. Cover. Seriously. Look. At. It. It's divine.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alana B. Lytle, Alexander McCall Smith, Andrea Penrose, Ashley Weaver, Christina Henry, Johanna Van Veen, Nicola Solvinic, Peter S. Beagle, Plum Sykes, Stacie Grey, Sydney J. Shields, Timothy Zahn, Veronica Roth

The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss
Published by: Daw Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 3240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times-bestselling phenomenon Patrick Rothfuss returns to the wildly popular Kingkiller Chronicle universe with a stunning reimagining of "The Lightning Tree." Expanded to twice its previous length and lavishly illustrated by Nate Taylor, this touching stand-alone story is sure to please new readers and veteran Rothfuss fans alike.

Bast knows how to bargain. The give-and-take of a negotiation is as familiar to him as the in-and-out of breathing; to watch him trade is to watch an artist at work. But even a master's brush can slip. When he accepts a gift, taking something for nothing, Bast's whole world is knocked askew, for he knows how to bargain - but not how to owe.

From dawn to midnight over the course of a single day, follow the Kingkiller Chronicle's most charming fae as he schemes and sneaks, dancing into trouble and back out again with uncanny grace.

The Narrow Road Between Desires is Bast's story. In it he traces the old ways of making and breaking, following his heart even when doing so goes against his better judgement.

After all, what good is caution if it keeps him from danger and delight?"

Here's a wee morsel to hold us over.

Disenchantment: Untold Tales Vol. 1 by Matt Groening
Published by: Titan Comics
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"No, you're not dreaming, it's Dreamland in print!

That's right, your favorite princess, demon, and elf-hybrid-thing from Matt Groening's popular animated series Disenchantment is now available in comic form! Easily streamable right to your brain via your eyes with no pesky Wi-Fi needed! Here lies the first of THREE all-new, all-comic volumes chronicling the stories you didn't see on screen."

In case, like me, you're suffering from withdrawal and haven't quite reached the phase of rewatching the entire series.

Good Girls Don't Die by Christina Henry
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sharp-edged, supremely twisty thriller about three women who find themselves trapped inside stories they know aren't their own, from the author of Alice and Near the Bone.

Celia wakes up in a house that's supposed to be hers. There's a little girl who claims to be her daughter and a man who claims to be her husband, but Celia knows this family - and this life - is not hers...

Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip - but then her friend's boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. No one else believes Allie, but she is sure that something about this trip is very, very wrong...

Maggie just wants to be home with her daughter, but she's in a dangerous situation and she doesn't know who put her there or why. She'll have to fight with everything she has to survive...

Three women. Three stories. Only one way out. This captivating novel will keep readers guessing until the very end."

Come on, you know you need to know!

Past Lying by Val McDermid
Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this latest installment to her acclaimed detective series, internationally bestselling author Val McDermid returns with DCI Karen Pirie in a propulsive new thriller of deceit and vengeance, set against the disquiet and investigative challenges of a global pandemic.

Hailed as Britain's "Queen of Crime" (Scotsman), Val McDermid is the award-winning, internationally bestselling author of over thirty novels that have enthralled readers for the past three decades. The long-awaited seventh novel in McDermid's acclaimed Karen Pirie series, Past Lying is a breakneck collision of ego, retribution, and just how far one will go to settle the score.

It's April 2020 and Edinburgh is in lockdown, but that doesn't mean crime takes a holiday. It would seem like a strange time for a cold case to go hot - the streets all but empty, an hour's outdoor exercise the maximum allowed - but when a source at the National Library contacts DCI Karen Pirie's team about documents in the archive of a recently deceased crime novelist, it seems it's game on again. What unspools is a twisted game of betrayal and revenge, but no one quite expects how many twists it will turn out to have.

Tense, atmospheric, and relentlessly captivating, Past Lying is another winner from Val McDermid, and new and longtime readers alike will delight in this triumphant return to a stellar series."

I have always been a fan of Val McDermid, but after watching Karen Pirie on BritBox I'm now obsessed with this series.

Bulletproof Barista by Cleo Coyle
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a film crew's location shoot delivers an actual shooting, Clare Cosi finds herself at the scene of a true crime in this showstopping entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

Only Murders in Gotham, the smash-hit streaming program, is famous for filming in authentic New York locations and using real New Yorkers as extras. For its second season, they've chosen to spotlight the century-old Village Blend and its quirky crew of baristas. Shop manager and master roaster Clare Cosi is beyond thrilled, especially when her superb bulletproof coffee lands her a craft services contract for the production.

Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the landmark shop, reveals an old kinship with the star of the show, comedian Jerry Sullivan. Now a Hollywood legend, Jerry frequented the Blend during his early years performing in Greenwich Village comedy clubs. But the past may hold more than nostalgia for Jerry. Suspicious accidents begin plaguing his shoot. Then a real bullet is fired from a stage gun, and Clare becomes convinced something sinister is afoot.

While Jerry's production moves to exciting new locations, Clare keeps the coffee flowing - and her investigation going - even as a murderer lurks in the wings. But can she root out the rotten player in this Big Apple production before the lights go out on her?

Includes a stellar menu of surefire recipes!"

I'm all about "Only Murders in" pick your New York location.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie in Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord, a dazzling first entry in a captivating new Regency-era mystery series with a feminist spin from Celeste Connally.

London, 1815. Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, has made a shocking proclamation. After losing her beloved fiancé in an accident three years earlier, she announces in front of London's loosest lips that she will never marry. A woman of independent means - and rather independent ways - Petra sees no reason to cede her wealth and freedom to any man now that the love of her life is gone. Instead, she plans to continue enjoying the best of society without any expectations.

But when ballroom gossip suggests that a longtime friend has died of a fit due to her "melancholia" while in the care of a questionable physician, Petra vows to use her status to dig deeper - uncovering a private asylum where men pay to have their wives and daughters locked away, or worse. Just as Petra has reason to believe her friend is alive, a shocking murder proves more danger is afoot than she thought. And the more determined Lady Petra becomes in uncovering the truth, the more her own headstrong actions and desire for independence are used against her, putting her own freedom - and possibly her life - in jeopardy."

I love the Regency Era and I love mysteries, therefore I love this book.

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died by Amanda Flower
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a literary icon stays with the Dickinson family, Emily and her housemaid Willa find themselves embroiled in a shocking murder in this new mystery from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author Amanda Flower.

August 1856. The Dickinson family is comfortably settled in their homestead on Main Street. Emily's brother, Austin Dickinson, and his new wife are delighted when famous thinker and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to Amherst to speak at a local literary society and decides he and his young secretary, Luther Howard, will stay with the newlyweds. Emily has been a longtime admirer of Emerson's writing and is thrilled at the chance to meet her idol. She is determined to impress him with her quick wit, and if she can gather the courage, a poem. Willa Noble, the second maid in the Dickinson home and Emily's friend, encourages her to speak to the famous but stern man. But his secretary, Luther, intrigues Willa more because of his clear fondness for the Dickinson sisters.

Willa does not know if Luther truly cares for one of the Dickinson girls or if he just sees marrying one of them as a way to raise himself up in society. After a few days in his company, Willa starts to believe it's the latter. Miss Lavinia, Emily's sister, appears to be enchanted by Luther; a fact that bothers Emily greatly. However, Emily's fears are squashed when Luther turns up dead in the Dickinson's garden. It seems that he was poisoned. Emerson, aghast at the death of his secretary, demands answers. Emily and Willa set out to find them in order to save the Dickinson family reputation and stop a cold-blooded fiend from killing again."

What a better way to end a questionable courtship than murder?

The Honor of Your Presence by Dave Eggers
Published by: McSweeney's
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 72 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this long short story, or short novella, Dave Eggers gives us an unforgettable duo, Helen and Peter Mahoney, a homebody niece and her adventurous, almost-British uncle. Helen designs invitations to parties and galas to which she is not welcome, and is quite comfortable with that. One day, though, Peter wonders, "Why not print an extra invite and I'll be your plus one?" What starts out as an innocuous lark becomes much more - a very funny and lyrical referendum on why humans congregate and celebrate."

This has very Mrs. Dalloway vibe which I can't wait to dig into.

Upon a Frosted Star by M.A. Kuzniar
Published by: HQ
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the snow falls, she will be free...

The invitations always arrive the same way - without warning, appearing around the city on the first snowfall of the year, simply inscribed with 'Tonight.'

When struggling artist, Forster, finds an invitation, he's bewitched by the magic of the evening, swept up in the glamour of this notorious annual party and intrigued as to who is behind them.

Determined to find out more about the mysterious host, Forster discovers an abandoned manor house silent with secrets and a cursed woman who is desparate to be free...

From the bestselling author of Midnight in Everwood, comes another spellbinding literary fairy tale that's The Great Gatsby meets Swan Lake."

Personally I'm here more for The Night Circus vibes.

Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman
Published by: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A stunning new edition of this prequel episode from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials universe that tells how aeronaut Lee Scoresby and the armored bear Iorek Byrnison first met. Now with full-color illustrations from Chris Wormell.

After winning his hot-air balloon in a poker game, Lee Scoresby and his dæmon, Hester, find themselves floating north. On landing, it's not long before Scoresby is embroiled in a deadly plot involving an oil magnate, a corrupt mayoral candidate, and Lee's longtime nemesis - a hired killer. Lee's been in tight spots before, but getting out of this mess will require some sharp shooting and the help of an unlikely new ally - the massive, surly, armored bear Iorek Byrnison.

Newly illustrated in full color by renowned print-maker Chris Wormell, this edition is a wonderfully gift-worthy production"

This is one of my favorite short pieces in the His Dark Materials universe and I'm so happy to see this lovely new edition.

Billy and the Giant Adventure by Jamie Oliver
Published by: Tundra Books (NY)
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One pinch of adventure, a dash of friendship, a sprinkle of mystery and a HUGE spoonful of magic...Jamie Oliver, bestselling author and internationally renowned chef, delivers the perfect recipe for a page-turning children's fiction debut!

Billy and his friends know that Waterfall Woods is out of bounds; strange things are rumored to have happened there and no one in their village has ventured past its walls for decades...But when they discover a secret way in, Billy and his best friends, Anna, Jimmy, and Andy, can't resist the temptation to explore! Only to quickly discover that the woods are brimming with magic and inhabited by all sorts of unusual creatures, including a whole community of sprites who need the children's help! With magical battles, a long-lost mythical city, fantastical flying machines, epic feasts and one GIANT rescue - not to mention some mouth-watering recipes at the back - get ready for an adventure you'll never forget!"

Jamie Oliver probably only actually wrote the recipes, but as long as it has his joy and enthusiasium for life then that's all I need.

System Collapse by Martha Wells
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells's New York Times bestselling Murderbot Diaries series.

Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there's an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can't have the planet, they're sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.

But there's something wrong with Murderbot; it isn't running within normal operational parameters. ART's crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza's SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they're going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what's wrong with itself, and fast!

Yeah, this plan is... not going to work."

If you're sitting around to wait for the deadly droid revolut in the Star Wars comics to come out in trade paperback, might I suggest another murderous robot?

A Disturbance in the Force: How and Why the Star Wars Holiday Special Happened by Steve Kozak
Published by: Applause Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bea Arthur as the owner of the Mos Eisley Cantina. Long scenes entirely of Wookies bleating at each other, without subtitles. Harvey Korman, in drag, as a four-armed Space Julia Child. Six minutes of Jefferson Starship performing for Art Carney and a bored Imperial Guard. Mark Hamill, fresh from his near-fatal motorcycle accident, slathered in pancake makeup. A salacious holographic burlesque from Diahann Carroll. Even by the standards of the 1970s, even compared to Jar-Jar Binks, the legendary 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special is a peerlessly cringeworthy pop-culture artifact. George Lucas, who completely disowned the production, reportedly has said, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it." Just how on earth did this thing ever see the light of day? To answer that question, as Steven Kozak shows in this fascinating and often hilarious inside look into the making of the Special, you have to understand the cultural moment in which it appeared - a long, long time ago when cheesy variety shows were a staple of network television and Star Wars was not yet the billion-dollar multimedia behemoth that it is today. Kozak explains how the Special was one piece of a PR blitz undertaken by Lucas and his colleagues as they sought to protect the emerging franchise from hostile studio executives. He shows how, despite the involvement of some of the most talented people in the business, creative differences between movie and television writers led to a wildly uneven product. He gives entertaining accounts of the problems that plagued production, which included a ruinously expensive cantina set; the acrimonious departure of the director and Lucas himself; and a furious Grace Slick, just out of rehab, demanding to be included in the production. Packed with memorable anecdotes, drawing on extensive new interviews with countless people involved in the production, and told with mingled affection and bewilderment, this never-before-told story gives a fascinating look at a strange moment in pop-culture history that remains an object of fascination even today."

Let's not blame this all on an expensive Cantina set that's seen for only five minutes. This is nightmare fuel of the highest order and I for one will be traumatized forever for watching it. So this book will begin the healing.

Elmer Bernstein, Film Composer by Peter M. Bernstein
Published by: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 280 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A behind-the-scenes look at the life and music of legendary Hollywood composer Elmer Bernstein, the only person to be nominated for an Academy Award in every decade from the 1950s to the 2000s Over a career spanning 54 years, he composed landmark scores in every available genre - epics, jazz, westerns, dramas, and comedies - and his credits read like list of the greatest films of his time: The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Man With the Golden Arm, The Great Escape, Ghostbusters, to name just a few. This biography, written by Elmer's son Peter, interweaves exclusive interviews, oral histories not otherwise available, estate archival materials, and personal experiences. Elmer Bernstein lived a colorful life: he was a first generation American; he was blacklisted; and he was a fearless advocate for film music not afraid to take on anyone in pages of trade papers. The book looks at many of his landmark scores in depth, collaborations with various producers and directors, and his success in navigating the rough and tumble of Hollywood. There is much to his story: a cycle of struggle, success, frustration, failure, and reinvention repeated many times over his career which connected the Old Hollywood with the modern era."

Remember, there's more than one famous Bernstein out there! Also, they were friends but not family. Though this was written by Elmer's son.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amanda Flower, Celeste Connally, Christina Henry, Cleo Coyle, Dave Eggers, Disenchantment, Elmer Bernstein, Jamie Oliver, M.A. Kuzniar, Martha Wells, Patrick Rothfuss, Philip Pullman, Star Wars, Val McDermid

Horseman by Christina Henry 
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this atmospheric, terrifying novel that draws strongly from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the author of Alice and The Girl in Red works her trademark magic, spinning an engaging and frightening new story from a classic tale.

Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt's grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that's just legend, the village gossips talking.

More than thirty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play "Sleepy Hollow boys," reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?"

The illustration of the horse on this cover is perhaps one of my favorite cover illustrations ever. 

The Last House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is a shocking and immersive read perfect for fans of Gone Girl and The Haunting of Hill House.

In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three.

A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time.

A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory.

And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible.

An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all."

The reason you should ALL read this book, does the cat do exorcisms from studying the Bible?

The House of Dust by Noah Broyles
Published by: Inkshares
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 445 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Deep in the heat and silence of rural Tennessee, down an untraveled road, sits the forgotten town of Three Summers. Mere miles away, on an overgrown river island, stands the house that once presided over the grand plantation of Angel's Landing, moss-draped, decrepit. Waiting.

Failing crime writer Bradley Ellison and former prostitute Missy Holiday are drawn to this place, fleeing a world turned against them. For Brad, it is work - he must find a compelling story before the true-crime magazine he writes for judges him expendable. For Missy, it is recuperation - four years at the club have left her drained.

But the price of peace is high, and soon Brad and Missy discover that something hides behind the quiet. Something moves in the night. Something that manifests itself in bizarre symbols and disturbing funeral rites. Something that twists back through time and clings in the dust of the ancient house. A presence they must uncover before their own past catches up with them."

If you haven't noticed by now, I LOVE haunted house books! 

Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The upcoming marriage of the Earl of Wrexford and Lady Charlotte Sloane promises to be a highlight of the season, if they can first untangle - and survive - a web of intrigue and murder involving the most brilliant scientific minds in Regency London...

A thrilling new mystery novel from the acclaimed author of Murder at Queen’s Landing, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Anne Perry! The wedding of the Earl of Wrexford and Lady Charlotte Sloane is not-to-be-missed, but the murder of a brilliant London scientist threatens their plans - and their lives...

One advantage of being caught up in a whirl of dress fittings and decisions about flower arrangements and breakfast menus is that Charlotte Sloane has little time for any pre-wedding qualms. Her love for Wrexford isn’t in question. But will being a wife - and a Countess - make it difficult for her to maintain her independence - not to mention, her secret identity as famed satirical artist A.J. Quill?

Despite those concerns, there are soon even more urgent matters to attend to during Charlotte and Wrexford’s first public outing as an engaged couple. At a symposium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, a visiting botanist suffers a fatal collapse. The traces of white powder near his mouth reveal the dark truth - he was murdered. Drawn into the investigation, Charlotte and the Earl learn of the victim’s involvement in a momentous medical discovery. With fame and immense fortune at stake, there’s no shortage of suspects, including some whose ruthlessness is already known. But neither Charlotte nor her husband-to-be can realize how close the danger is about to get - or to what lengths this villain is prepared to go..."

I have been on a huge Regency kick lately!

Mistletoe Christmas by Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, and Erica Ridley 
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From four beloved writers - Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, and Erica Ridley - come four original stories that tell a hilarious tale of a Christmas house party that serves up love and scandal in equal measure!

The Duke of Greystoke’s Christmas Revelry is famous throughout the British Isles for its plays, dancing, magical grotto... not to mention scandals leading to the marriage licenses he hands out like confetti.

But not everyone welcomes a visit from Cupid.

Lady Cressida, the duke’s daughter, is too busy managing the entertainments - and besides, her own father has called her dowdy. Her cousin, Lady Isabelle Wilkshire, is directing Cinderella and has no interest in marriage. Lady Caroline Whitmore is already (unhappily) married; the fact that she and her estranged husband have to pretend to be together just makes her dread the party all the more. But not as much as Miss Louisa Harcourt, whose mother bluntly tells her that this is her last chance to escape the horrors of being an old maid.

A house party so large that mothers lose track of their charges leads to a delightful, seductive quartet of stories that you will savor for the Season!"

Again, have I said recently how I'm on a Regency kick? Oh, and it might be September, but it's never too soon to be thinking about Christmas! 

Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney
Published by: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Elizabeth Penney's Chapter and Curse is the first in a brand new cozy series introducing Molly Kimball and set in one of the oldest bookshops in Cambridge, England..."

It's set in Cambridge. In England. I'm in.

Murder Outside the Lines by Krista Davis 
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Includes A Front and Back Cover for You to Color!

With Halloween just around the corner, the fall colors in Georgetown are brilliant. As manager of the Color Me Read bookstore, coloring book creator Florrie Fox has arranged for psychic author Hilda Rattenhorst to read from Spooktacular Ghost Stories. But the celebrity medium arrives for the event in hysterics, insisting she just saw a bare foot sticking out of a rolled-up carpet in a nearby alley. Is someone trying to sweep murder under the rug? Florrie calls in her policeman beau, Sergeant Eric Jonquille, but the carpet corpse has disappeared without a trace.

Then in the middle of her reading, Hilda chillingly declares that she feels the killer's presence in the store. Is this a publicity stunt or a genuine psychic episode? It seems there's no happy medium. When a local bibliophile is soon discovered missing, a strange mystery begins to unroll. Now it's up to Florrie and Jonquille to expose a killer's true colors..."

I just LOVE that this is taking the adult coloring book craze to the next level! 

The Ice Coven by Max Seeck 
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Investigator Jessica Niemi is in a race against time to find the link between a body with strange markings that has washed up on a frigid shore in Finland and two baffling disappearances in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Hunter.

Six months have passed since Jessica's encounter with the mysterious serial-killing coven of witches and the death of her mentor. Her nightmares about her mother and the witchcraft that undid her have only gotten worse, but she's doing what she can to stay focused. Her homicide squad, now under new leadership, has been given a murder case and a new series of disappearances to investigate. A young woman's corpse has washed up on an icy beach, and two famous Instagram influencers have gone missing at the same time.

The missing influencers and the murdered woman all have ties to a sinister cult. Jessica finds an eerie painting - of a lighthouse on a remote island - as she investigates, and under the picture is a gruesome poem detailing a murder. The nightmares about her mother suddenly seem all too real, making Jessica wonder if the dead woman might be trying to tell her something about the killings. And as Jessica works frantically to solve her latest case, her horrific past comes roaring back and threatens to destroy her."

Scandi witches!!!

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The specter of graduation looms large as Naomi Novik’s groundbreaking, New York Times bestselling trilogy continues in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education.

In Wisdom, Shelter. That’s the official motto of the Scholomance. I suppose you could even argue that it’s true - only the wisdom is hard to come by, so the shelter’s rather scant.

Our beloved school does its best to devour all its students - but now that I’ve reached my senior year and have actually won myself a handful of allies, it’s suddenly developed a very particular craving for me. And even if I somehow make it through the endless waves of maleficaria that it keeps throwing at me in between grueling homework assignments, I haven’t any idea how my allies and I are going to make it through the graduation hall alive.

Unless, of course, I finally accept my foretold destiny of dark sorcery and destruction. That would certainly let me sail straight out of here. The course of wisdom, surely.

But I’m not giving in - not to the mals, not to fate, and especially not to the Scholomance. I’m going to get myself and my friends out of this hideous place for good - even if it’s the last thing I do.

With keen insight and mordant humor, Novik reminds us that sometimes it is not enough to rewrite the rules - sometimes, you need to toss out the entire rulebook.

The magic of the Scholomance trilogy will continue in 2022."

The trilogy will continue in 2022? I like series with a definitive release date. 

Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson
Published by: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

It’s a new star-crossed romance about the magic of first love from the acclaimed author of We Are the Ants and Brave Face, Shaun David Hutchinson.

Jack Nevin’s clever trickery and moral flexibility make him the perfect assistant to the Enchantress, one of the most well-known stage magicians in turn-of-the-nineteenth-century Europe. Without Jack’s steady supply of stolen tricks, the Enchantress’s fame would have burned out long ago.

But when Jack’s thievery catches up to them, they’re forced to flee to America to find their fortune. Luckily, the Enchantress is able to arrange a set of sold-out shows at Seattle’s Alaska–Yukon–Pacific World’s Fair Exposition. She’s convinced they’re going to rich and famous until a new magician arrives on the scene. Performing tricks that defy the imagination, Laszlo’s show overshadows the Enchantress, leaving Jack no choice but to hunt for the secrets to his otherworldly illusions. But what Jack uncovers isn’t at all what he expected.

Behind Laszlo’s tricks is Wilhelm - a boy that can seemingly perform real magic. Jack and Wilhelm have an instant connection, and as the rivalry between the Enchantress and Laszlo grows, so too does Jack and Wilhelm’s affection. But can Jack choose between the woman who gave him a life and the boy who is offering him everything?

It’s a stirring tale about the magic of love from award-winning author Shaun David Hutchinson."

Seeing as people I know and trust have been demanding I put down everything I'm doing and read this book I thought I should pass on this advice to you. 

Celebrate with Kim-Joy by Kim-Joy
Published by: Quadrille Publishing
Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Let Kim-Joy and her signature cuteness brighten your celebrations. From birthday cakes to year-round events, all occasions are covered!

The 60 sweet recipes are bursting with color, imagination and fun and there's something for everyone, no matter what their baking skills.

Big occasions include birthdays, Valentine's Day, Halloween, Christmas, weddings; and there are plenty of other celebrations too - Graduation Day, New Year's, new baby, Pride, Thanksgiving, Day of the Dead, Pancake Day and many more.

Vegan and gluten-free alternatives are provided so that no one needs to miss out!

This joyful collection of recipes includes all the step-by-step photography, clear instructions and words of positivity you need to learn to bake and decorate just like Kim-Joy."

I TOTALLY want to celebrate with Kim-Joy!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrea Penrose, Catriona Ward, Christina Henry, Elizabeth Penney, Eloisa James, GBBO, Haunted House, Kim-Joy, Krista Davis, Max Seeck, Naomi Novik, Noah Broyles, Regency, Shaun David Hutchinson, Sleepy Hollow